White House: Obama Was Joking About iPod, iPad

The White House offered PC Mag.com clarification on President Obama's unfamiliarity with iPods: he was kidding.

This past Sunday, President Obama delivered a commencement speech to the graduating class at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia; during which he mentioned popular consumer electronics and their potential effect on digital media.

The statement that caught our eye and others in the digital media was as follows:

"And meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads; and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- (laughter) -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy." (The full transcript can be found on whitehouse.gov, while the video is available on YouTube.)

By themselves, the President's comments seem ambiguous and could hint that he's interest in adding more government regulation to the Internet which is currently being played out in Washington. The FCC is considering re-classifying broadband Internet connections; a move that has not been made without criticism.

Our editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff, reached out to the White House for a comment; they responded yesterday evening with the following:

"While the President joked that his level of tech savvy was wanting, his point was that technology offers this generation limitless opportunities and it is up to the individual if they will use these advancements simply for entertainment or as tools of empowerment that, when combined with their educations, will keep America at the forefront of technological advancement in the 21st century," Moira Mack, a White House spokesperson, said.

PJ Jacobowitz is PCMag.com's Analyst for Digital Cameras. He has been with PCMag.com since September of 2006 and has appeared on MSNBC, CW11, ABCNY, XM Satellite Radio and CNN Radio as a correspondent for PCMag.com. PJ graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications and a minor in Business in 2004 from Indiana University at Bloomington. For more information on the photography lab, see "How We Test Digital Cameras."
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